Texas Roadhouse 3Q net up 13%

Texas Roadhouse Inc. said new locations, improved margins and higher same-store sales drove a 13-percent profit increase in the third quarter.

For the quarter ended Sept. 27, Texas Roadhouse recorded net income of $15.8 million, compared with $13.95 million in the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share rose 15 percent to 22 cents per share, from 19 cents per share a year earlier.

Revenue rose 10 percent to $269.3 million, compared with $245.6 million in the third quarter of 2010, reflecting 10 new corporate restaurants and one franchised location opened during the past 12 months.

“Despite ongoing commodity inflation, we were pleased with our third quarter,” said chief executive Kent Taylor. “Comparable-restaurant sales remained strong at 4 percent, driven by traffic gains and pricing flow-through, while our newest units continued to generate very strong volumes … We remain on track with our 2011 and 2012 development plans and are particularly pleased that our cash flow generation remains healthy. This allows us to self-fund our new-unit expansion and allocate excess capital for the benefit of shareholders.”